SHE (Seen, Heard and Experienced) in China is my personal blog about my every day encounters in China

Friday, February 6, 2009

Relax AND talk at the same time? I'm not that talented yet

I got a message from my friend Willing (Indonesian girl that everyone thinks is Chinese) the other day asking me if I wanted to join her and her friend Nan Nan (Japanese-Brazilian) for an afternoon of a 3 hour spa treatment (1 hour oil massage, 1 hour facial and 1 hour foot massage for 120 kuai -about 12 euros). Sure I did!

"Just one thing Jonna, you cannot talk to the beauticians, OK?" popped up on my mobile screen after I'd gladly accepted the invite.

"Eh, sure?!" I replied.

At the day of the indulgence, I met up with Willing and Nan Nan 15 minutes prior to our appointment.

-Jonna, now remember. No talking to the beauticians! I know you like to talk, Nan Nan said.

-Sure, but.. like.. what's the big deal!? Can I like... tell them that my back hurts and stuff? I asked. (I don't talk THAT much, do I?!)

-Sure you can. Anything related to the treatment you can talk about. But no small talk about where you are from or what you are doing in China. Last time we were there (Nan Nan has a membership card at the spa, hence why the fee was so cheap for a 3-hour treatment) we did the mistake of answering their questions and as a result they talked to us, non-stop, throughout the whole treatment. Three hours of talking! THREE HOURS! At the end I actually asked them to be quiet as I wanted to relax but they just wouldn't shut up!

-Oh, I see...

-Yeah, so no talking, OK?

-You've got it. No talking.

We went into the spa and were showed into our room. Three pretty beauticians introduced themselves to us and told us about today's treatment. I nodded to everything they said, getting into my character of a quiet spa-goer.

-Mei nu, mei nu... you should take better care of your skin... bla bla bla bla... and off she went. I felt a pang of guilt. I'd only said 'mmhmm' but she went on and on? Gosh. maybe even a 'mmhmm' was too much?

-Mei nu, where are you from? the beautician said. I pretended I didn't hear her.

-Mei nu, how long have you been to China?

-Mei nu how often do you go to spas?

-Mei nu, mei nu, came again. Gosh, this was starting to feel a bit strange.

-Yes? I said and lifted my head.

-Oh, we are not talking to you but to your friend! Said the girl rubbing Willing's back. Whoops.

After 10 minutes I had heard enough to establish a few things:

1. Willing and Nan Nan were right. These girls were talking non-stop, no matter if we replied to their questions or not.

2. We were all referred to as 'mei nu' making it a bit confusing to understand who they were actually talking to.

3. My skin was super dry, all my birthmarks were really bad and oh, did I mention that all in all, my skin was BAD?!

30 minutes later we were told to turn around. And in came the big boss.

And that was it. Thirty minutes later the massage was over and the facial was about to begin and the lady was still talking. She had gone from telling me she wanted to visit France to that she really wanted to learn English and that she envied me that could speak three different languages... Even though my replies were minimal she just kept talking and talking.

-I probably shouldn't talk now seeing that I am getting a face mask, I said

-Oh, that doesn't matter! Said the lady. You can talk despite the mask.

-But I want to relax... I tried.

-Of COURSE you should relax! But you can relax and talk at the same time, can't you?

Useless. It didn't matter that I went from answering her questions to just mumbling 'mmmm' or 'yeah that's right' at times, she still went on, and on, and on... keeping her face extremely close to mine, giving me compliments for my 'big eyes', 'bright skin' ('although I wouldn't want your big nose.. hahahah!' -well, it's not for sale!), and 'golden hair.'

Once the facial was finally over and we all got up to get dressed and go downstairs for our foot massage, I shot Willing and Nan Nan an apologetic look, saying 'I couldn't stop her!?' with my eyes.

-It's OK, Nan Nan said. I can tell you made an effort.Next time we'll all just bring earplugs.

26 comments:

We find that just throwing out a 听不懂 (ting bu dong) quickly silences them - they don't bother to talk if they think that you don't understand them. Well, they may still talk a little between themselves but they won't bother you with questions.

Of course I'm presuming that they were speaking to in Chinese and not English, so far we have only run into one masseuse that spoke some English...

Yeah that one is probably the best one, but I always give myself away as I wanna tell them what to focus on when giving me a massage (eg, I cannot stand them touching my legs so always tell them to focus on the back etc) and I've never had a beautician (yet?) that can speak English.

What a talkative beautician you met! :-) but I think that by talking with u will help him enjoying massaging u, maybe she will be bored if being silent all the time, just forgive her , Jonna! hehehe.... I found this interesting blog from Blog of Note too! Keep blogging, girl! :-)

i am always v. annoyed by talkative beauticians! the worst part comes when they start telling u how bored/tiring their jobs are! being such a "considering" person, i almost feel guilty of the sweat and tears they spill for massaging me...indeed v. relaxing...NOT!p.s. glad to see there's a substantial increase in the number of readers who check out your blog now...dun forget us the long-time loyal readers ;P

A chinese massage is that the ones when they step on your back? I wouldn't know I'm a guy and most guys don't get too into that kind of stuff. I mean we would love to get a back message but you tell your guy friends that and all of a sudden your sexuality is up for debate.

Matt -you can choose if u want them to step on your back or not... it's not crucial... (and I have never tried that kind.. sounds, ehum, a bit.. rough!). I don't think u have to b a girl to get a massage.. at least not here in China. Loads of guys getting massages, western as Asians.. I mean, the best thing I can think of after a work out is to get a massage.. especially if I've gone for a long run and the whole body is soar. Really, don't let your 'manliness' be in the way of getting a massage -it's too good to miss out on! :)

I hear you. Massages arent so popular in Western countries, but in Asia they are everywhere, and I, for one, have become addicted. In fact, I shall be heading out to one as soon as I send this comment :)

I've never done a 3 hour session before though.

Have you tried Thai massage before? (If you havent, it's really different to the "usual" and it's fun!)

Well at least they talked to you. Where I live all of our nail salons are run by the Vietnamese community here. They are very talented, but I haven't found one yet that will say a word while working. I feel kind of awkward sitting there for so long in silence. I'm not really a chatter bug, but SOME conversation would make the time pass a little quicker I think. Although I think I would go a little crazy if they talked as much as your spa ladies!

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About Me

I’m originally from Sweden but for the last 11 years I’ve been living in England, Australia, Finland and China (since 2006). Moving around has become a minor addiction for me and travelling is a big part of my lifestyle.
I’m passionate about writing and about learning new languages (except for Swedish and English I also speak Mandarin).
My blog, SHE in China, is about what I see, hear, and experience in my every day life here in Shanghai. Enjoy!